Am trying to keep the same Runerval workout for at least 3 weeks just to work towards speed improvement, am probably not going to be 100% ready for New Orleans since am doing fun hard works but not necessarily going long, with the next race being a marathon and not a 5k or 10 k it may not be the best of ideas but training through the winter requires fun to combat all the dull dreary days.

After Cathe Low Impact Hiit, I did the 2nd scrambled which mixes LIH #2 1st part and the LIH #1 2nd part, it really is fun to do it this way, I do think I am beginning to hate dixie cups, what torturous little demons.

For Runerval today, repeat of 1.0 with team Clydesdale, doing intervals 1, 2 & 4 @ 5k pace (7mph) and 3 @ base pace (5.5mph) this was a hill workout , goal was to reduce the time I stay below 5.5mph, today wasn't too bad, form was good, last interval was a struggle but doable. Last week's total mileage was 3.29 (av g pace 10:38) this week 3.34 (avg pace 10:29) so moving in the right direction. I have no intention at this point to run faster than 7mph, I will just be pushing to improve time at base pace, max base pace for training is 5.8mph so I have plenty of run to grow.


One of my Facebook memory was a picture I took when I went to Houston in 2012 for the marathon and got a chance to watch the Olympic qualifying race, this was my first out of state race and I think it still remains one of my favorite, the finish was just so well done you feel like a rock star. I still have my Brooks Cowboy hat, too special not to keep.

Starting week 5 of Marathon training, even thou I added speed work last week this is really the start of speed and tempo, the question is what marathon time am I committing to. Marathon PR is 4:29 in 2012 and Chicago 2014 was 4:37, can't decide if I want to train for a new PR or for Fun, training through the winter is going to be hard.

Decision made train for a PR, if the body protest, drop down to for fun, I really miss the speed and challenge.

Today's workout was ChaLean Burn #1 + 4 miles easy run. I really will love to go heavier with ChaLean but some of the workouts are crazy compound moves and my left forearm seem to be quite week, also I was quite tired so kept the 4 miles at 5.5mph for the 1st 2 miles then move to 5.6mph for the next 1.5 miles and took up 0.1 for each 0.1 mile.

 

1st marathon Cleveland 2008

Detroit Free Press Expo and Marathon - Oct 17/18. 2015

Was planning on doing Detroit last year but got into Chicago so did it instead and resisted the urge to do a back to back marathon since I am not getting any younger and there is no reason to wear out the body at such as early age.

Drove down to Detroit by myself on Saturday after running some errands, it was a nice 3 hours drive, went straight to the expo which was at the Cobo Center, it was easy to get to, lots of parking at the center that was listed outside for $10 but was actually $5 for those attending the expo.

I got flagged to see the immigration officers before I could pickup my bib, so had to show passport and answer some questions, not much at the expo, I thing the biggest selling product was  pouch for your passport since we were advised to have it with us doing the race, just about every vendor had their own version of passport protector. I went swiftly through the expo not much was of interest and no real freebies which for me is the fun part of expos.

On the way out got in some expo pictures and made my way to the hotel, I decided to stay at the Westin in Southfield which was only 15mins away and much cheaper than the hotels downtown.

Check in was a breeze at the hotel, even thou it seem very busy with a wedding, hockey group and  people watching a Michigan game all hoovering around. Went through the google map app to see what kind of restaurant was around me and there was an authentic Chinese restaurant nearby with great review, went over to try it out. You can judge the quality of a Chinese restaurant by how many Chinese patron are actually in there, this one was packed and they had a separate authentic Chinese menu, which is always fun to order from, it normally translate to no sugar and junk. The food was great and I was very tired, so was in bed promptly by 8pm since I had a 4am wake up alarm set. Parking is going to be a pain according to the where to park map we were given.

Had a really good night sleep, love the Westin Heavenly bedding, woke up refresh and relax, now to start the day, got everything done and was out of the hotel by 5:15am after requesting a 3pm checkout which was happily granted. Parking was a pain, getting into the free casino slot wasn't happening so headed off towards the start to look for parking, found one $20 absolutely no way, so drove around and found another about 15mins walk from the start for $5, I don't mind the walk after the race, seem perfect to flush things out.

This was a wave start, well organized with lots of porta potty around just about every corner. For some reason for this race I couldn't stop peeing not sure what the trigger was but by race start I had used the restroom close to 6 times and within minutes of starting I had to use it again, oh brother. WE had some nice snow flurries at the start, the joys of a midwest race never know what to expect nothing was coming off it was just too cold.

 Beautiful course, pretty much flat except for some incline on the bridges and towards the finish, running to Canada was interesting there was some crowd out along the route, the tunnel back was hot despite how cold it was outside so I really can't imagine how nasty this will be on a hot day.

They did a good job showing all the beautiful parts of the city, at no time did I feel unsafe, despite running by myself most of the time especially after the Half Marathoners joined us and before the American HM caught up with us.

Slightly disappointed in the lack of food at the end, no beer either. We had banana, chocolate milk, hummus(did not sure what I was suppose to eat this with) and protein bar, I guess my annoyance was further fuel by watching the volunteers eat sub sandwiches.

I walked over to what I thought was the after party but there wasn't much going on and I wasn't interested in buying over priced food and I also was cold if there was another party somewhere I didn't see it and wasn't going to walk around looking for it when I still had a 15mins walk back to my car.

I wasn't shooting for any finish time since I just did Akron 3 weeks ago but I always aim for under 5 hours when I do this multiple races, could have done much better if I wasn't constantly looking for a porta potty



Got back to the hotel after picking up another Chinese meal, shower took a quick nap then left the hotel about 3pm, this makes it easy for me to go straight to church instead of home since I may not make it back out.

All in all a great time in Detroit and we can cross off the great state of Michigan in our quest for 50 states.#runDetroit

Life continues to be a struggle with so much on my plate, am loving it none the less since I am doing things that I love.


I have to say recovery/taper is going great I feel strong and healthy, not sure what Detroit is going to bring but I am more than ready to face it, although looking at the course elevation I am amaze at how flat it is, the only true elevation change and that is an exaggeration is at the tunnel and bridge it is going to be fast but can  my ITB handle 26.2 miles of flatness, doing the best I can to prepare for it especially the right one, it just hate flat course since the first one in Cleveland.

Lifting heavy with Cathe's Xtrain is working very good with this phase of my life with just the minimal amount of plyo thrown in to challenge the joints.

On today's workout, Burn Back I was quite surprise on how heavy I had to lift to get the 10 reps in with some muscle soreness, for the 1 arm row I had to use the 40 pounder and I was still able to do 13 reps in the last set to reach muscle failure, for the double arm row I started out with 25s and switch to 30s for the 2nd and burn set, the only 1 I probably will never increase is the delt fly stayed at 8#, the angle is awkward and I know to do it safe and be efficient I need to keep the weight under 10 pounds. The core workout was a challenge but it was so more doable than the other one, oh I forgot to mention about tabaticise that is just a party in a box in a twisted kind of way, there is so much plyo and other challenging moves that 20secs seem like for ever and the 10 secs rest moves with lightening speed, sweaty mess when done.

For running, I continue to do this my way based on how my body is feeling, nothing I do will make me faster but something I do, can stop me from getting to the starting line, so I do fun stuff and today was no exception pulling out itread with Grace, I was thoroughly warm from all the other workouts so starting out fast wasn't an issue, it was a great mix of speed and tempo workout, couple of 6 mins intervals at Marathon pace and 5k speed for 60secs intervals.

Couple of races coming up this weekend so the running community here is buzzing, of course the biggest is Chicago, the  our local Towpath and I have a group of BGR sisters doing the Queen Bee HM in Cincinnati and Detroit is next weekend.

Do you notice that other events seem to only happen on the day you have a race, really people nothing the weekend before or after but everything stack up for race weekend and I always feel like am being selfish but I booked this race since last year, I've trained 24 weeks for it, inviting me to a function a week before the event means you do not think I have a life, too bad I do and I pick me.

Friday - The drive to pick up my son at Miami University 4 hours away was painful, I can't believe I drove the same distance , did 3 races (Flying Pig 10K, 5k and Marathon) and drove back. It has something to do with my husband's car seat, not the first time this has happened - butt is allergic to luxury car, an hour into the drive my left butt muscle was shooting pain down my leg, so glad to get out of the car and stretch things out, same problem on the way back, thankfully we stopped for gas and dinner. This is really going to suck when we do the 9 hours to Chicago via Cincinnati for my niece's graduation. Workout Pretty Fierce Lean Out (PFLO)Lower Body Strength + Upper Body Strength +36 mins of Spinerval Ultra Conditioning Core, this was  a great combo. PFLO continue to kick my butt.

Saturday - Still have some butt pain but legs are fine, got in 8+ miles with Shelby on the trail, pain was no better or worse, went for my scheduled massage and she was able to get some of the kinks out.

Sunday - Thankfully I did not sign up for the Cleveland Marathon, it was hot and humid (100%), before going for a graduation ceremony I was able to get in PFLO Anaerobic capacity workout (yep lack of oxygen alright)+core +yoga hybrid, I don't think I will ever do more than the 28mins routine, another hard one. I think if you survive the rotation, you will be in great shape, she goes through it without huffing and puffing, she is a machine, quite humbling.

Monday - I convince myself to run outside in the morning, it was humid and I was miserable but I got in a 5k before coming in, came back in and did Cathe Push/Pull

Today - Since I am running Akron with Shelby, I decided that I need to do Brain Training For Runners (BTFR) marathon plan so we run at least 20 miles, I think she will have a panic attack if we stop at 16 using Hanson even though she knows it works for me. So today was hill repeats and I pulled out Sufferfest: The Machine; I have my paces for running a 1:58 HM this is Shelby's other goal, to run an under 2hr HM, we are running biggest loser 6/7;/15 not enough time I think, last HM was 2:10 for me, Shelby has not done one this year, next HM is 8/15 should be doable but we will need to pick up speed and endurance.
Sufferfest: The Machine - 5 hill repeats by #4, I was dying, why would they think this was a good time to do a 5k pace on a 8% incline, each repeat was about 3 mins, the incline and speed changes, tend to go up not down. Use Drop 2 Sizes Phase 1 RAMP to warmup before sufferfest, then did Drop 2 Sizes Phase 1 Countdown Metabolic workout after + PFLO yoga.

Still struggling with chest congestion from my allergies, just does not seem to be going away, I hope I can keep up with my training, enjoy how my body is feeling but not sure what is going on with the butt muscle currently both actually hurt even to touch, good thing I use a standing desk at work.

Ordered Strong Stride and Cardio Strength from Groupon, good deal $9.99+tax+s&h brings total to $15.01, 6% cash back from ebates.

I love days when I wake up with a song in my heart and a smile on my face, today was that kind of day. Felt great upon waking I just know it was going to be a great day, so nothing to do but make it a great one,even thou I am still not 100% but the thunderstorm yesterday helped cleared some of the pollens out..

 I did contact moms into moms into fitness about the 2 bad DVDs and they are sending replacement and gave me a link for a free download. Great customer service.

With a spring in my step decided to work on conquering Fierce Lean Out total body strength this is one of my favorite even though it is long at 55mins, I love the sequence strength then endurance(tabata style) then recovery/abs, 8 blocks I think all together. I mean anything that starts out with a burpee + 2 squat jumps for 10 reps got to be fun . I had planned on going outside to run after the workout but I was soaked from head to toe which require a change of clothes being lazy I decided on the treadmill moreover it was windy and a bit on the chilly side.

I pulled out Coach Troy, Runerval 7.0 and did workout #1 - 10 -30 secs sprints / 90secs recovery, did the 1st 5 at 8mph then 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5 and since I felt fine tried 10.0 okay it is amazing how people can run this pace for a long time. Recovery was @ 4.2mph with everything done on a 2% grade. To stretch things out I used Fierce Lean Out yoga hybrid which was perfect at just 13mins.

After work, even thou the temps said 60 degrees it was pretty chili so pulled out long pants and tops, met Shelby at the bike and hike and we got in the usual 4.27 miles, it was nice to see that we were significantly faster this week than last week, also I was only 2 days out from Flying Pig last week.

I need to start thinking of next year races but am really surprise how how this lottery races take their time announcing, I mean London does announce until October for an April race and it looks like Tokyo doesn't even open till August for lottery and that is a February race. Oh well patience is virtue.

Cincinnati Flying Pig 4-Way Runcation

Going down to run Flying Pig was a big girl decision for me, the race was paid for and my hubby had to travel out of the country, even thou I go to all my local races by myself including the 100k/24hours ones this was a bit different I was driving 4 hours to Cincinnati and back after a crazy racing weekend. I did contemplate not doing it but then I figure out if I was single does that mean I won't drive to races, I know I was fine with the plane since I came to MCM alone.

Took a half day from work, went to my Athena women's luncheon and left from there in hopes of getting through Columbus before rush hour, I wanted to make it down to the expo also which ends at 7pm since I didn't want to deal with it in the morning, got to expo with 15 mins to spare. I didn't really do much at the expo just got my stuff and left since I wanted to see my son who was about 45mins away at college, after all the driving around, made it to the hotel around 10pm and was tired, really going to race in the morning, oh boy.

Well, woke up Saturday morning fresh as a daisy, I always sleep so good in Marriott beds, and the wonderful breakfast ladies had breakfast out and I decided on white rice and eggs with extra salt. They weren't kidding when they said all roads will be close at 7am for the 8am 10k start. It was chilly in the morning but it warmed up fast, lots of walkers, there must be a Galloway training school or something in the area, 5-6 people cluster around someone wearing a coach t-shirt telling them when to run/walk, also the start for the walkers (section G) was at the top of a hill, well they were having none of that they were mostly in B or C, after a lot of weaving around in the first 2 miles was able to find a good grove, finish the 10k in 1:01:28 for a 9:55 avg pace. Faster than I was expecting. It got hot fast.

The 3 & 4 way runners had gear check so I was able to change out of my wet tops and put on something dry, I was soaking wet when done. I thought the 10k had lots of people, the 5k had lots of kids, it looks like a lot of the schools had running groups for this very young kids 5-8 grade no cool teenagers. The kids were actually quite good but the problem was the over weight never exercise parents who decided to join them because of cause if little Johnny can do it they can do it too, except for little Johnny did train. The kids will run, look around no mum or dad then stop dead in the track, shouting for them. There were people walking in jeans, cowboy boots, holding hands. As usual the kids and most of the walkers were in the front, so quite a bit of weaving around and I did give up by mile 2 and just coast to the finish. 30:04 - 9:42 avg pace Great crowd support, I mean with little Johnny doing his first race there was grandma, grandpa, aunts and uncle. Start time 10am

I enjoyed myself on Saturday and was slightly concern about how fast I ran both races but too late to worry about that, went to the hotel, shower and set out to explore the city. Found a gem in Covington KY Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, I think I spent close to 4 hours there, studying the stain glasses and mosaic stone work,  if you are ever in the area, this place is a must see, pictures does not do it justice.

Met up with the BGR Cincinnati group for early dinner and was back to the hotel and in bed by 9pm.

4:30am rise and shine, I felt good nothing hurts, race start is 6:30am, most roads close by 5:30 no breakfast ladies this morning just too early, grab some coffee and headed out. It was chilly but you can tell it was going to be a hot day. I couldn't really get into my corral way too many people and I mean spectators not runners so got in where I finally found an opening, right in the middle of all the grooving walkers, had fun with them most were running the half for the 1st time. Just ran as best as I could limiting the weaving by mile 4 things open up a bit and when we separated from the HMarathoners things really open up.

I felt fine through out but was concern I wasn't drinking enough, I had my water bottle with me and drank all my accelerade and then switch to water taking a cup of gatorade here and there but for some reason my body wasn't handling the electrolyte properly, by the half way mark, my fingers were swelling and my side was hurting I know I needed salt and lord and behold at mile 15 there was crispy salty bacon, it was just what I needed. This is a very hilly course, lots of rollers even at mile 25+ there was a hill, I was fine with it, but a combination of the heat and hill was putting a lot of stress on my body, I was wondering how hard to push knowing I still had a 4 hours drive back home, by mile 19 decided to ease off and just get to the finish, mile 20+ there was a hog wash station with ice cold wet towels and water spray it felt so good. At mile 24+ I looked at my watch and did the mental calculation again, shoot I will have to increase speed if I am to come in under 5 hours, according to my garmin course was 26.58 ran the last .58 at 9:38 pace, 4:59:40 - 11:49 avg pace talk about cutting it close. I ran all 3 races with music, the music was 150-170bpm and I was using it to stay steady.

The crowd was great this is a true community affair, I mean everyone was out in front of there house, handing out something, playing music, cheering or just asking why you choose to do this. Highly recommend this race.

I didn't have that much time left after I finished, had to drive back to the the hotel, shower and check out. After finishing I realized my car was about a mile walk away, on the other side of the other stadium. On my way out of town felt the need to stop at Skyline Chili and try a 4 way, there was a $5 gift card in my swag bag. Ordered a small (spaghetti, chili, onion and cheese) , did not modify but not sure why all the cheese but it was pretty good.

I actually felt pretty good after the finish, nothing really hurt. The drive back home wasn't bad, I stopped after 1 hour at an outlet mall, never too sore to shop, saw some fellow runners there too, then another hour at a travel plaza to use restroom, I was drinking lots of water finished a 1 gallon jug by the time I got home. Drove the last 2 hours straight through.

Am so glad I didn't chicken out about going to the race, I know I could have only done the marathon but I will constantly wonder if I could have done the 4 way. I also gave myself permission in my head to quit if anything hurts, getting back home safely was top priority. #runflyingpig